Assignment – Research Method

1st ASSIGNMENT
Dated : 10-06-2016

Submitted to:

Sir Khalid Wahab

Submitted by:

Muhammad Umaiz
EMBA 1st Semester
(SUPPLY CHAIN MANAGEMENT)

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester

 Assignment – Research Method

A hypothesis is an educated prediction that can be tested. You will discover the purpose of a
hypothesis then learn how one is developed and written. Examples are provided to aid your
understanding, and there is a quiz to test your knowledge.

A hypothesis is a tentative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.
A hypothesis is a specific, testable prediction about what you expect to happen in your study.
For example, a study designed to look at the relationship between sleep deprivation and test
performance might have a hypothesis that states, "This study is designed to assess the
hypothesis that sleep deprived people will perform worse on a test than individuals who are
not sleep deprived.".

A hypothesis is used in an experiment to define the relationship between two variables. The
purpose of a hypothesis is to find the answer to a question. A formalized hypothesis will
force us to think about what results we should look for in an experiment.
The first variable is called the independent variable. This is the part of the experiment that
can be changed and tested. The independent variable happens first and can be considered the
cause of any changes in the outcome. The outcome is called the dependent variable. The
independent variable in our previous example is not studying for a test. The dependent
variable that you are using to measure outcome is your test score.
Let's use the previous example again to illustrate these ideas. The hypothesis is testable
because you will receive a score on your test performance. It is measurable because you can
compare test scores received from when you did study and test scores received from when
you did not study.
A hypothesis should always:

 Explain what you expect to happen

 Be clear and understandable
 Be testable
 Be measurable
 And contain an independent and dependent variable

Another important aspect of a hypothesis is that it should be based on research. Remember

that the purpose of a hypothesis is to find the answer to a question. The first thing you should

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester

 Assignment – Research Method

do if you want to answer a question is to find as much information on the topic as you can.
Before you come up with a specific hypothesis, spend some time doing research. Then, start
thinking of questions you still have. After thoroughly researching your question, you should
have an educated guess about how things work. This guess about the answer to your question
is where your hypothesis comes from.
You come up with the following question: 'Does temperature cause the leaves to change color
on the tree in my front yard?' Next, you ask yourself if this can be tested. If it can be tested,
you'll write a hypothesis that states what you expect to find. Your hypothesis could be 'If
lower temperatures cause leaves to change color and the temperature surrounding a tree is
decreased, then the leaves will change color.'

A hypothesis states what we are looking for. When facts are assembled, ordered and seen in a
relationship they constitute a theory. The theory is not speculation but is built upon fact. Now
the various facts in a theory may be logically analyzed and relationships other than those
stated in the theory can be deduced. At this point there is no knowledge as to whether such
deductions are correct. The formulation of the deduction however constitutes a hypothesis; if
verified it becomes part of a future theoretical construction.
A hypothesis looks forward. It is a proposition which can be put to a test to determine its
validity. It may seem contrary to or in accord with common sense. It may prove to be correct
or incorrect. In any event however, it leads to an empirical test. Whatever the outcome, the
hypothesis is a question put in such a way that an answer of some kind can be forthcoming.
The function of the hypothesis is to state a specific relationship between phenomena in such a
way that this relationship can be empirically tested. The basic method of this demonstration is
to design the research so that logic will require the acceptance or rejection of the hypothesis
on the basis of resulting data.

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester

 Assignment – Research Method

A literature review may consist of simply a summary of key sources, but in the social
sciences, a literature review usually has an organizational pattern and combines both
summary and synthesis, often within specific conceptual categories. A summary is a
recap of the important information of the source, but a synthesis is a re-organization, or a
reshuffling, of that information in a way that informs how you are planning to investigate a
research problem. The analytical features of a literature review might:

 Give a new interpretation of old material or combine new with old interpretations,
 Trace the intellectual progression of the field, including major debates,
 Depending on the situation, evaluate the sources and advise the reader on the most
pertinent or relevant research, or
 Usually in the conclusion of a literature review, identify where gaps exist in how a
problem has been researched to date.

 Place each work in the context of its contribution to understanding the research
problem being studied.
 Describe the relationship of each work to the others under consideration.
 Identify new ways to interpret prior research.
 Reveal any gaps that exist in the literature.
 Resolve conflicts amongst seemingly contradictory previous studies.
 Identify areas of prior scholarship to prevent duplication of effort.
 Point the way in fulfilling a need for additional research.
 Locate your own research within the context of existing literature [very important].

 Argumentative Review
 Integrative Review
 Historical Review
 Methodological Review
 Systematic Review
 Theoretical Review

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester

 Assignment – Research Method

1. Problem formulation -- which topic or field is being examined and what are its component
issues?
2. Literature search -- finding materials relevant to the subject being explored.
3. Data evaluation -- determining which literature makes a significant contribution to the
understanding of the topic.
4. Analysis and interpretation -- discussing the findings and conclusions of pertinent
literature.

There are a number of reasons why review of related literature remains core component of
any scientific study. These include but not limited to the following:

Firstly, review of literature acts as a stepping-stone towards achievement of the study

objectives. For scholars, the depth and breadth of the literature review emphasizes the
credibility of the writer in his or her field.

Secondly, literature reviews provide a solid background to back one’s investigation. The
review plays a critical role in analyzing the existing literature and giving justification as to
how one’s research fits into the existing body of knowledge. This implies that the literature
review provides the general understanding which gives meaning to the discussion of findings,
conclusions, and recommendations. This allows the author to demonstrate how his / her
research is linked to prior efforts and how it extends to build on better understanding.

Thirdly, literature reviews help the researcher to avoid duplication, identify the gaps in other
studies with the goal of filling them, borrow from the research design and methodology used
to investigate that particular problem and to interpret his or her own findings.

In general terms, the literature review helps to provide a context for the research, justify the
research, ensure the research hasn’t been done, show where the research fits into the existing
body of knowledge, enable the researcher to learn from previous theory on the subject,
illustrate how the subject has previously been studied, highlight flaws in previous research,
outline gaps in previous research, show that the work is adding to the understanding and
knowledge of the field, help refine, refocus or even change the topic.

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester

 Assignment – Research Method

A theoretical framework consists of concepts and, together with their definitions and
reference to relevant scholarly literature, existing theory that is used for your particular
study. The theoretical framework must demonstrate an understanding of theories and
concepts that are relevant to the topic of your research paper and that relate to the broader
areas of knowledge being considered.
The theoretical framework is most often not something readily found within the
literature. You must review course readings and pertinent research studies for theories and
analytic models that are relevant to the research problem you are investigating. The selection
of a theory should depend on its appropriateness, ease of application, and explanatory power.
The theoretical framework strengthens the study in the following ways:

1. An explicit statement of theoretical assumptions permits the reader to evaluate them

critically.
2. The theoretical framework connects the researcher to existing knowledge. Guided by
a relevant theory, you are given a basis for your hypotheses and choice of research
methods.
3. Articulating the theoretical assumptions of a research study forces you to address
questions of why and how. It permits you to intellectually transition from simply
describing a phenomenon you have observed to generalizing about various aspects of
that phenomenon.
4. Having a theory helps you identify the limits to those generalizations. A theoretical
framework specifies which key variables influence a phenomenon of interest and
highlights the need to examine how those key variables might differ and under what
circumstances.

Here are some strategies to develop of an effective theoretical framework:

1. Examine your thesis title and research problem. The research problem anchors
your entire study and forms the basis from which you construct your theoretical
framework.
2. Brainstorm about what you consider to be the key variables in your research.
Answer the question, "What factors contribute to the presumed effect?"

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester

 Assignment – Research Method

3. Review related literature to find how scholars have addressed your research
problem. Identify the assumptions from which the author(s) addressed the problem.
4. List the constructs and variables that might be relevant to your study. Group these
variables into independent and dependent categories.
5. Review key social science theories that are introduced to you in your course readings
and choose the theory that can best explain the relationships between the key
variables in your study [note the Writing Tip on this page].
6. Discuss the assumptions or propositions of this theory and point out their relevance
to your research.

Think of theories as the conceptual basis for understanding, analyzing, and designing
ways to investigate relationships within social systems. To that end, the following roles
served by a theory can help guide the development of your framework.

 Means by which new research data can be interpreted and coded for future use,
 Response to new problems that have no previously identified solutions strategy,
 Means for identifying and defining research problems,
 Means for prescribing or evaluating solutions to research problems,
 Means of giving old data new interpretations and new meaning,
 Means by which to identify important new issues and prescribe the most critical
research questions that need to be answered to maximize understanding of the issue,
 Means of providing members of a professional discipline with a common language
and a frame of reference for defining the boundaries of their profession, and
 Means to guide and inform research so that it can, in turn, guide research efforts and
improve professional practice.

Research in chemical education should be theory-based. Although this assertion would seem
to most to be non-controversial, it is common to find research studies in the literature without
the grounding of theory. Some would claim that theory is not necessary, because research
should be focused on answering narrow questions that would more likely appeal to
practitioners. Nevertheless, theory-driven research has advantages for the development and
growth of the discipline of chemical education. Theory can guide research, practice,
curriculum development, evaluation, and help develop effective instructional tactics and
strategies. Furthermore, it is not clear that theory-free research can exist. A researcher who
doesn't articulate an underlying theory about how learning takes place is probably still
operating on a theory of learning and making educational decisions about how learning takes
place. Theory about learning chemistry can be derived from established disciplines like
psychology, sociology, and philosophy. A consideration of prominent learning theories
derived from these sources demonstrates the power of theory-based research strategies.

Muhammad Umaiz – EMBA 1st Semester